Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has been fined €890 million by the European Union for violating the Digital Markets Act, marking another major crackdown on a big tech company. The investigation has been underway for about two years. This preliminary ruling by the European Commission came in March 2025, when they gave Google time to rectify the problem. In addition to that, the company was also recently given an extension in May 2026, as the Commission believed its proposals were inadequate. However, after the extension the union has now fined Google on Thursday, noting that the tech firm violated two articles of the law.
The 890 million euro fine imposed on Google has been for two variations. Google’s search business has been penalised for €460 million, as, according to the European Commission, Google unfairly promoted its own Shopping, Hotels and Flights services over rival comparison platforms in search results. While putting fines on Google, regulators said competing services must be treated fairly and without discrimination.
Aside from that, a separate fine of 430 million euro has also been targeted at Google’s Play Store policies. The Commission said that Google restricts Android developers to freely direct users to other payment methods that could offer lower prices. Furthermore, they also passed a new order under which Google must allow developers to promote alternative payment options both inside and outside the Play Store.
The decision comes more than two years after the commission launched a non-compliance investigation. A preliminary ruling was issued in March 2025, followed by discussions with Google over possible changes. The company received extra time in May 2026 after regulators said its proposed measures were not strong enough.
Google had already introduced several changes to meet the new rules as they removed the Google Flights widget for EU citizens. Moreover, they also increased visibility for third-party comparison sites on the search pages. Yet, the Commission found that the modifications made were not entirely sufficient to resolve its issues.
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The company has argued that the Digital Markets Act is hurting the quality of its products and making it harder to protect Android users from scams and harmful links. Even so, Google recently revised some Play Store rules after talks with regulators, with the Commission describing those updates as positive progress.
This isn’t Google’s first legal trouble in Europe. Back in 2017, Google was fined 2.42 billion euros for treating its shopping service unfairly compared to competitors. This new penalty adds to Google’s growing legal problems as the company is also facing legal issues in the United States over its Play Store rules.